1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IP communication apparatus that performs communication over an IP (Internet Protocol) network, an IP communication system, and a data transmission method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally known methods of facsimile communication via a network, such as the Internet and the like, include a method for transmitting image data as a file attached to an e-mail based on SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) (ITU-T T.37 standard). However, due to port 25 blocking (a use restriction on port 25 that is generally assigned for sending e-mails) performed by providers in recent years as a countermeasure to mass distribution of unsolicited emails, the facsimile communication using an e-mail system is inconveniently restricted.
A communication controlling apparatus, for example, is a well-known technology that can resolve this inconvenience. The communication controlling apparatus controls communication with an Internet facsimile apparatus connecting thereto, according to SMTP, while controlling communication with a server apparatus on a network, according to HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol). The communication controlling apparatus also converts e-mail data, which is received from the Internet facsimile apparatus, into HTML (HyperText Markup Language) so as to transmit the converted e-mail data to the server apparatus (Refer to Related Art 1).    [Related Art 1] Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-49571
The conventional technology described in Related Art 1 above, allows facsimile communication to be established via port 80 on a network managed by HTTP, even when port 25 is blocked on a route to communication destination. However, this conventional technology requires a groupware network or a groupware server in addition to the above communication apparatus, as it assumes that facsimile communication is performed in a communication environment that originally has the groupware network. Consequently, a lack of such groupware in the communication environment could increase the size of a system to be established, thereby raising the cost.